CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to implement the direct merging method of bee colonies?

How to implement the direct merging method of bee colonies?

It is used during the honey flow period and in early spring and late autumn when the temperature is low and the bees are less active. The usual practice is to first place the honeycombs of a group on one side of the beehive, and then lift the honeycombs of the bees to be merged and place them on the other side, keeping a frame distance between each other, or place them outside the partition, and then bring the honeycombs of the two groups closer together the next day. To be on the safe side, spray some thin honey (sugar) water on the honeycombs of the two groups, or spray a few times of smoke to mix the smell of the two groups to achieve the purpose of safe merging. During the wintering period and early spring, there are no bees in the nest. When the weather is cold, put the two groups of bees directly together, and they will not bite each other. Let's take a look at the methods and precautions for merging bee colonies with the editor below.

1. Direct merger method

Direct merging is suitable for bee colonies that have just moved out of the wintering room and have not experienced a refreshing flight, or in seasons with abundant nectar sources outside. When merging, open the beehive, adjust the honeycombs with the queen colony to one side of the beehive, and put the honeycombs without the queen colony with bees on the other side of the beehive with the queen colony. Adjust the distance between the honeycombs of the two groups of bees according to the alertness of the bee colony. Generally, there are 1-3 honeycombs between them, or they can be temporarily separated by classes. The next day, when the smell of the two groups of bees is mixed, the honeycombs can be brought together. For safety, you can spray a thin honey water on the merged bee colony, or drip 2-3 drops of perfume on the bottom of the box and the frame beam, or you can put the merged bee colonies in the same box and separate them with honeycombs filled with sugar solution or honey.

2. Indirect grouping method

Indirect merging is suitable for bee colonies that are not in the honey flow period, have lost their queen for too long, and have many old bees and few brood combs in the hive. Its main methods include the iron gauze merging method and the newspaper merging method. The iron gauze merging method is to open the box cover with the queen colony, superimpose an empty super on the iron gauze sub-cover, and then lift the comb with bees from the other queenless colony that needs to be merged into the super. The two bee colonies mix their smells through the iron gauze until there is no hostility, then remove the iron gauze and put the combs together. The newspaper merging method is to replace the iron gauze sub-cover with newspaper with many small holes drilled in it, so that the group smells of the two bee colonies can also be mixed.

Merge Notes:

The principle of merging a weak colony into a strong colony and merging a queenless colony into a queened colony must be followed when merging bee colonies. If both colonies have queens, the bees to be merged should be removed one day before the merger. If two weak colonies are merged, the superior queen should be retained. Before merging, the extra empty combs should be extracted to reduce the number of combs during merging. It is best to merge bee colonies in the evening, when all the bees return to the nest and there is no interference from bee robbers, so the success rate is higher. In the season of honey shortage and serious bee robbery, the queen should be temporarily locked in the colony with an attractant before merging, and released after the merging is successful.

The above is an introduction to the bee colony merging methods and precautions. I hope it can help you. If you want to know more related knowledge, please pay attention to us.